Mainland Settlements

 


Mainland Settlements 





Sizeable and solid structures in Neolithic Orkney are the cairns, the Knap of Howar, and the complex later structures of Skara Brae and the Ness of Brodgar. In contrast to these are the earlier settlements  which all seem to be shallow and fragile.

The Knowes of Trotty is a settlement on the Bay of Firth, Orkney Mainland. The excavated house is part of a group of eleven mounds, situated at the foot of the steep west slopes of the Ward of Redland. It features a large rectangular hearth, and a small external paved annexe with work areas including an area for pottery manufacture. All 7 carbon samples at this site are likely to pre-date 3000BC  (Nick Card, Jane Downes and Paul Sharman, 2006.) 

Excavation at seven other habitation sites delivered samples that are dated to before 3000BC. They are the Stonehall group, Stonehall Knoll, Stonehall Meadow, and Stonehall Farm, on the Bay of Firth, and not far from them, Wideford Hill and Smerquoy. This group may have been settled in this location because of its position on the lea side of hills around the Bay of Firth. It is relatively sheltered here, and at present trees are more numerous, and growing to greater heights than in other more exposed locations. 

Stonehall Meadow and Wideford Hill are both likely to pre-date 3000BC. Most of the samples from Stonehall farm are likely to pre-date 3000BC, but one is from the 28th century BC settlement

Smerquoy was established and abandoned before 3000BC, but may have been re-occupied at the end of the 3rd millennium BC, a thousand years later. 

The same thing happens at Habreck which is on the island of Wyre, abandonment before 3000BC, and reoccupation a thousand years later. The re-occupation of these sites would not have been as a result of people retuning to structures. It is likely that the abandoned settlements would have developed soils that encouraged the sowing of seeds, and the growth of wild food crops. 

On the island of Eday is Green, which  was occupied and abandoned before 3000BC. 

Stonehall Knoll stands out as an anomaly, as it has three samples from a thin layer of burnt material, with dates from three different centuries : the 32nd, 30th, and 26th. All three of these samples from the one layer may have been redeposited and trampled into the ground at any time after the 26th century BC. 

None of the foregoing habitation sites have any of the structural integrity of buildings that would permit their inhabitants to survive an Orkney winter. (The "Orkney Winter" is like a character in a melodramatic play. It has it's own character, and it's own temperament that overcasts ordinary mortal life on the archipelago. Survival through winter can be uncomfortable now, and must have been challenging 5000 years ago.)


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Index


The rich history of archaeology on Orkney provides source material for the following observations.

"Neolithic Migrants to Orkney" The story of the First, Founding Immigrants to Orkney 

"A Bizarre Idea" What's the Story, then?

"Walkable land in the North Sea" describes evidence that walkable land was present between Norfolk and Holland at a time when prehistoric people were occupying northern Europe. 

"Archaeology in the North Sea" looks at the elusive evidence that people could have walked from Caithness to South Ronaldsay. 

"3000BC" gives detailed evidence of tsunami events on the Norwegian Coast.

 "A Brief Guide to the Last Glaciation" How did the North Sea develop?

"Mainland Settlements" discusses and dates the early settlements across mainland Orkney.

"Barnhouse" describes this "Neolithic Village" a substantial group of Neolithic structures on the shore of Harray Loch. 

"Barnhouse Sweat Lodge" describes Structure 8, the Sweat Lodge at Barnhouse.

"Modern Sweat Lodge Practices" describes present day Sweat Lodge ceremonies.

"The Stones of Stenness" describes anomalies in the settings of the stones that formed the stone circle.

"The Ring of Brodgar" discusses just how many stones are there, or are not there, at the Ring of Brodgar. 

 "A Custom Among the Lower Class of People" , about 18th century Orkney people and the Stones at Brodgar. 

"Maeshowe, a Wonder of the Neolithic World" is the personal account of the excavation of the Maeshowe Cairn by the man who excavated it. I include it because it is so personal, not because it adds anything to our understanding. 

"Cairns of Orkney" is the commentary of several antiquarian archaeologists writing in previous centuries as they excavated Cairns in England, Scotland, and Orkney. Although these cairns may not have been excavated to a high standard, the commentary provided in these reports is, in my view, very personal, and highly approachable. 

"Cairns and the People in them" examines the bones of the people who were laid in cairns, and tells their stories.

"The Westrays" describes the Knap of Howar settlement, and the desolation of the islands that were found by the people of the Links of Noltland when they settled there at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. 

"Skara Brae, RCAHMS" is the official description of the Neolithic "Village"

"Skara Brae, Excavation", is an account of the excavation of Hut 7 in 1927. This is an interesting personal account of the Gordon Childe's Excavation by J Wilson Paterson.

"Dating Skara Brae" gives detailed dating evidence for Skara Brae 

"The Ness of Brodgar Excavation" and account of the excavation , before 2020, by Nick Card. 

"Dating the Ness of Brodgar" gives Dating evidence for the Ness of Brodgar 

"The Ferriby Boats" The first seafaring vessels? 

"The Orkney Vole" discusses the evidence that the Orkney Vole migrated from Europe to Orkney without setting foot on mainland Britain. 

Bere Barley, a Neolithic grain derivations of Bere Barley. 

"Concluding" , some simple remarks in conclusion.

"Finally" closing remarks.

Sources

All views and opinions expressed are my own, but it remains a work-in-progress for which positive criticism and comment is welcomed.


Jeffery Nicholls 

South Ronaldsay 

Orkney 

Jiffynorm@yahoo.co.uk 


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